Re-naming India as Bharat? First instill life into the country's body politic, its people!

By Sudhansu R Das

Slogans, posters and narratives can qualify for patriotism if those audio visuals are backed by concrete actions. Living patriotism needs sacrifice and without sacrifice patriotism is a loud noise only. Lord Rama had sacrificed the Bhog Vilas of his palace to establish Ram Rajya; he had set an example of the finest form of patriotism. What followed after that was the continuation of good governance for several hundred years. The existence of Hindu temples in Asia and in many parts of the world are proof of the outreach of the Ram Rajya.

Today, keeping national interest above the hidden personal interest is the biggest challenge before the countrymen; this is the only way to make India strong and prosperous. Today, the world has become a place where might becomes right- a kind of jungle raaj announces the advent of the worst form of Kaliyug. The leaders of strong nations without Sanskar or proper religious training make the leaders of the weak nations look like murgas; they behave as if they are their masters.

There is one escape route from this embarrassing situation; the weak nations need to unite and develop their core strength; for that they need to focus on dedicated research to build the human resources, economy and weapons. The majority of the Indians are the practitioners of Hinduism which enshrines the philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam; unless the people of the nation become strong economically, culturally and intellectually they cannot safeguard their core philosophy of love and peace. GDP growth can build wealth for the big investors but it can’t weave the core strength of the country which is inclusive growth based on education, skills and talents. True Indian patriots should build the core strength of the country brick by brick.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) general secretary, Dattatreya Hosabale wants India to be named as Bharat. This should have been done long before independence or soon after independence as Bharat is very much associated with the nation’s rich civilization for more than 5000 years. This is not like renaming a country but it is like restoring the original name, Bharat. Bharat is the most precious social capital of India which instills confidence and self respect among the people. Debating over Bharat is like doubting the country’s history, culture and civilization. There should not be any attempt to politicize the name Bharat which will be detrimental to the progress of the country. A nation should not be named by foreigners.

Only restoring the name Bharat will not make the country strong. There is a need to instill life into Bharat. India’s core strength lies in its people who need to be properly educated and be freed from malnutrition, poverty and unemployment. The biggest task before the country now is to stop population growth which will create unrest and force the government to spend huge expenditures on the social sector. It will never let the country rise from poverty and backwardness. Population growth without capacity building will build vote banks. Rapid population growth will change the entire demographic composition as it happens at an alarming pace in the tribal districts and in the backward districts of Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh; the cultural landscape of those regions has changed. More than seven and half decades is too long to educate people about the benefits of family planning. There is a lackluster approach to effectively use deterrence for checking population growth in the interest of the country.

Massive bank frauds threaten to collapse the financial sector and neutralize the GDP growth gain. It erodes people’s trust and jeopardizes the future of millions of innocent depositors; the old people are hit hard. There is a need for cyber commandos to deal with this situation as quickly as possible. The majority of the frauds in its wide diversity germinate in Hyderabad; the city alone is capable of crushing the economy of the country into dust. True patriotic leaders should put honest and efficient people in the financial sector to take on the menace head on. Lord Rama took the advice of saints and seers who were experts in statecraft; he had learnt governance from the demon king Ravana who had acquired all the knowledge of the Vedas. India has no dearth of intellectuals, saints and seers who can guide the leaders. Bharat is our home and the citizens are like the children of the rulers. True patriotic leaders will strengthen democracy which will breed good and capable leaders to build Bharat.

Lord Rama took Jal Samadhi after grooming Luv and Kush into capable leaders. Similarly, the septuagenarian leaders should identify really capable leaders with budhi, sidhi, bichar and patriotism; they should hand over power to young leaders. After that they can take Jal Samadhi or go to the forest ashram or to the caves of Himalaya. But, the greed for power and luxurious life seldom encourage them to walk on the path of Sanyas. In India the majority of the regional political parties and the centrist Congress party suffered heavy electoral loss due to Santan Moha which blocked the growth of dynamic leaders within the party to take on BJP in the center. Frankly speaking, India is facing a drought in the second generation of quality leaders. This should not turn into a crisis.

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